Candidate Filing Opens in NC for Most Races

The regular filing period began at noon Monday, ending at noon on Feb. 28 for candidates running for most elected offices across North Carolina in 2018.

Those running in judicial races will be filing during a later period beginning June 18 and running until June 29 following an order from the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued Friday, under which there will be no judicial primaries for the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, as well as the District Court and Superior Court races.

The primaries, for all other races than the judicial races, will be held on May 8, with the general election being held Nov. 6.

If there are no federal elections going to primary run-offs the date will be June 26, but if there is a federal primary to be included in the run off election it will be held July 17.

“We look forward to working with candidates during this important mid-term election year,” State Board of Elections Executive Director Kim Westbrook Strach, said.

Filing for office can be done in person or by mail, with the location to file depending on the office sought, for information on filing for office visit the “Candidate Filing” page on the State Board website.

Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. district attorney will file at the State Board office in Raleigh.

Candidates for other offices, including the state House and Senate, will file at the board of elections offices in the county of their residence.

Throughout the filing period, a statewide candidate list will be posted to the board of elections website.

State board personnel directed prospective candidates who wish to file for any office to the appropriate fact sheet available online for each type of office being sought, in a release.

Once a candidate has filed, the deadline to withdraw a notice of candidacy is Friday, Feb. 23.

The State Board also wanted to ensure that prospective candidates were aware that the board offices moved in the fall of last year and the offices are now located on the third floor of the Dobbs Building at 430 N. Salisbury St. in Raleigh.

All visitors must show identification at the front desk and pass through a metal detector upon entering the building.